Lock for hopper-car doors



Nov. 25, 1924- 1,517,005

C. D. HOBB LOOK FOR HOPPER CAR DOORS Fild Jan. 9Q 1924 A TTORNE YS Patented Nov. 25, 19 24.

' UNITED STATES Y 21,517,005 PATENT OFFICE.

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Application filed January 9, 1924. Serial No. 685,284.

certain newv and useful Improvements in- Looks for Hopper-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification. My invention relatestoiimprovements in railway car door locks and it consists of the constructions, combinations and arrange-. ments herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and efiicient lock designed particularly for the doors which close the hopper bottoms of gondola cars. 1

Another object of the invention is toprovide a lock which includes a gooseneck hav ing one position in respect to the gear-shaft to lock the hopper door even if unassisted, and another position in respect to said shaft in which the door is permitted to open by the weight .of material thereagainst.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following specification, reference beliln had to the accompanying drawing, in w 10 1 Figure 1 is a perspective bottom view showing the hopper door locked in the closed .position. Y 4

Figure 2 is a perspective bottom view showing the first. step in unlocking the door, Figure 3 is a side elevation showing how the weight of material against the door.

36 causes the door to open.

' Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the gear shaft as it appears from the side ./0{1ESlt0 to that in Figure 1.

' 'gure 5 is a detail section'on the line 55'of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a detail section on the line 66 of Fi m2. 1. Figure is a detail section on the line 77 of Figure 4.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 show enough of a gondola car to illustrate the application of the invention. The invention is a lock for the door lock of the hoppers'2 by which coal or other material is discharged through the bottom of the gondola car 3.

There are two pairs of discharging hoppers. Each pair has doors, but onl one of the doors and the associ l mechanism thereof is shown, inasmuch as the construction and operation of both would be identical. The pair of hoppers 2 to which reference is bein made is separated by a space 4 in which t e goose-neck 5 of the improvedlock operates.

The goose-neck-5 is bifurcated at 6 to re- 00 ceive the solid end of a link 7 the opposite end of which is bifurcated at 8 to receive the arm 9 of the. gear shaft 10. The shaft is journaled in. suitable bearings 11 crosswise of the car and beneath the hoppers 2.

A bifurcation 12 at the opposite end of the goose-neck 5 receives the head of a bolt 13 which passes through a: bar 14 and receives the nut 15 by means of which connection between the goose-neck and the doors 1 I is made. The nut is kept from turning by a keeper 16 which is suitably fastened on the bar 14. Each door 1 is independently but the bar 14 connects the doors so t at they operate as one. It is to be noted that the goose-neck 5 is of u a peculiar curved formation, and it is due to this formation that it has iis name. The function of the curved portion 17 is to car the main center 18 over and below the sha 10 when in the locking position so that the door 1 will be ,held closed under all-circumstances, even in the event of the disconnection of the link 7. The place 19 at which the goose-neck is connected to the bolt- 13 8 may be known as the forward center. The place 20 where the link 7 is connected with the arm 9 may be known as the backcenter. These so-called centers are composed of bolts which provide the necessary pivotal connecno tions between the various parts of the lock. Each bolt 18, for exam 1e (Figpxe 7) has a co cealed non-circular head 21 y which the bolt is prevented from turning. The exposed portion 22 of the head may be of mras cular or other shape. The circular portion occupies asimilar openingin the adjacent part of the bifurcation. The bolt passes on through to the other side where it receives a nut 23, this nut being held in place by a suit- 10 able cotter 24. This style of fastening is' used wherever bolts may be used. I Sleeves 25 on the gear shaft 10 rest against adjacent bearings 11 and hold the shaft in ition. A gear 26 on the outer extremity u of the shaft 10 meshes with a larger gear 27 .on a shaft 28 in a bearing 29 pendant from-a plate 30 beneath the outermost hopr-2. The lair gear carries an integral handle 31 by which the gear 27 is turned to handle rotates the shaft until the main center 18 is elevated above the shaft whereupon the weight of coal or other material against the door 1 will push on the door and complete the opening.

A throw lever 32 has a passage 33 which frees they handle 31 when the door 1 is. in

q the locked position. This. passage is defined bythe cam edge 34 of the weight 35 and the lever handle 36 itself. The extremities of both handles 31 and 36 may be so shaped as to receive a short section of pipe to increase the leverage should it become neeess to do so. A bracket 37 igure'3) provides the support for the t rowing lever 32.

Similarly a' bracket 38 provides the support for a detent 39 (Figures 5 and 6) which has a recess 40 and heel 41 to receive and support the handle 31 when the look assumest e operative, position in Figure 5. The free end of the detent 39 is weighted at 42 so that ravity holds it in the operative" position. t is necessary to raise the detent 39 in order to release the handle 31 from a the position in. Figure 5. The throwing the stud 45. A keeper lever 32 and detent 39 are pivotally mounted at 43 and 44 in the respective brackets. The toe 47 of the. detent 39 makes contact with the plate 30 in the holding ition (Fig. 5) to prevent the detent Eb m droppin too .far and becoming inoperative.

A am 45 on the weighted end 42 of the detent 39 provides a handle b which the detent may beraised. This stu "is designed to receive the end of a pipe, as in an instance already mentioned, by which the leverage may be increased in cases where the pres sure of the handle 31 on the heel 41 is too great to be overcome by a pull directly on 46 provides a place where the lever handle 36 may be locked in order to prevent opening of the door 1.

The operation may be readily understood from the followi description. The door 1 remams looked as ong as the locking detent 39 remains in the position in Figure 5. In this position the'heel 41 supports the handle 31, and a downward pressure on either the handle 31 or the handle 36 of the lever 32 which is intended for this operation will be unavailing in moving the handle 31.

It is thro h the throwing lever 32 that A the gear han e 31 is either moved upward "to the locking position or started downward.

For these pa see. the end of the handle 31 ls' intende to ride in the passage 33. The adjacent longitudinal edges of the passage act as pains in aocomplishin the foregom functions. But before the audio-31 can moved at all, it is necessary to lift the locking detent 39 so as to move the .heel

experienced in starting thehandle 31 down.

The downward movement" of this handle will cause such turning of the gears 26 and i 27 that the shaft tends to turn and the-main center 18 of the goose-neck 5 will be elevated above the shaft. The pressure of coal or other material inside of the ondola 3 will do the rest. The door 1 W111 be pushed open and the goose-neck 5 with its associated parts transferred to the position in Fi re 3.

he link .7 is the actuating member in respect to the positioning of the goose-neck 5. For example, when unlocking the door 1 it is the link 7 that so moves the gooseneck that the main center 18 is elevated above the shaft 10 as already stated. On the other hand, in returning the door 1to the closed position, it is the link 7 that idesthe main center 18 rearward and ownward to the locking position below the shaft 10. The curved part 17 of the goose-v neck is intended to bear against the collarby which the arm 9 is mounted on the shaft,

and this engagement in itself provides a operates by gravity to keep the heel 41 ex-' tended beyond the bracket 38, and the action of gravity on the handle 31 while in the locking pos'tion assists the function of the locking detent.

While the construction and arrangement Y of the improved gondola car door look as herein described and claimed is that of a generall preferred form, obvious changes and m ifica'tions may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the dams.

I claim 1. In combination with a discharge hopper having a door, a goose-neck pivoted to t e door and including a curved portion, a shaft having an arm, a linkpivoted respect'ively to the arm and to the curved end of the goose-neck thereby makin -'a. connection, means to turn the shaft in either of two directions so that the arm and link either elevate or lower the curved end ivot behind the shaft and thereby either re ease or look the door, a handle included in said turning means, a throw lever by'which the handle is actuated,an d a lockingdetent to lock for the door 1 which would hold it 5 engage and. hold the handle after it has been moved into one position by the throw lever to lock the door in the closed position.

2. In combination with a dischar e chute having a door, a goose-neck pivote at one end to the door, a shaft havin an arm, a

link pivoted between the curv end of the turnin goose-neck and the arm, a pair of gears for the shaft, a handle on one of the gears or operating the shaft to move the curved end pivot of the goose-neck above or below the back of the shaft to either unlock orlock the door, a pivoted throw lever having a passa e to receive the handle and move 1t upwar to close the door when the throw lever is moved upward, and a locking detent having a shoulder projectable be neath the handle to hold it 1n position.

3. In combination with a discharge chute having a door, a goose-neck pivoted at one end to the door, a shaft havin an arm, a link pivoted between the curve end of the goose-neck and the arm, a pair of gears for turning the shaft, a handle on one of the gears for operating the shaft to move the curved end pivot. of the goose-neck-above or below the back of the shaft to either unlock, or lock the door, a pivoted throw lever having a passage to receive the handle and move it upward to close the door when the throw lever is moved upward, a locking detent having a shoulder projectable beneath the handle to hold it in position, and a weight so arrafiged on the locking detent to keep the sho der projected under the handle by gravity.

. 4. In combination with a discharge chute havmg a door, a goose-neck pivoted at one the shaft to either unlock or look the door upon moving the handle, a pivoted throw lever having a passage to receive the handle and move it upward to close the door when the throw lever is moved upward, a locking detent having a shoulder projectable beneath the handle to hold it in position, a weight so arranged on the locking detent to keep the shoulder pro'ected under the handle by gravity, and a throw lever permitting locking it in that position in which the door isclosed.

5. In a device of the character described a plate carrying a bearing bracket, a gear journaled in said bracket and having a handle, a shaft having a gear meshing with.

the aforesaid gear the shaft being turned when the handle is moved, a goose-neck having means by which it is connected with a door at one end, an arm on the shaft, a link connecting the arm with the curved end of the goose-neck so that the goose-neck is hooked upon or released from the shaft accordingly as the handle is moved, a pair of brackets carried by said plate, a throw lever pivoted in one bracket havin a passage to receive the handle and move it to a locking position, and a locking detent in the other bracket having a heel to support the handle when in the locking position.

COLEMAN DORSEY HOBB.

eeper situated beside the 

